The final blog in a four-part series. Congratulations! You are a lender! Now what?
by Bob Dougherty
Once you become a lender, you must become laser-focused on every process from beginning to end. Technology is critical to maintain a system of checks and balances and facilitate successful borrower engagement.
Fintech solutions are raising the bar. And while they are appealing to millennials, they handle only a portion of the process in the loan life cycle. Fintechs offer ease of use at the beginning with new ways to qualify and underwrite loans, but these loans still need to be funded. At the end of the day, everyone (to and including the fintech lenders) must still meet compliance regulations, processing requirements, government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) underwriting standards, and borrower expectations.
Traditional mortgage technology is evolving to deliver solutions that improve the customer and lender experience by enhancing efficiency and productivity while reducing cost and frustration. From an LOS perspective, we are providing cloud-based, data-driven solutions with a more elegant, intuitive approach to borrower and property information input to eliminate the need for multiple data entry for various forms, and creating the building blocks for a highly efficient and completely digital mortgage process—with instant verification solutions, e-signature tools, and sophisticated document management throughout the process.
In the case of Calyx, we now offer a point-of-sale solution that allows loan officers to interview prospective borrowers with questions that apply to their unique situation and loan inquiry, which improves the borrower’s experience and the quality of leads lenders receive.
In addition, you must continually invest in technology and partners that help serve your borrowers efficiently and enable you to make faster decisions—appraisers who meet your turn times, automated quality control and compliance, etc. This will allow you to focus less on process and technology and more on generating business.
Today, everyone expects instantaneous responses and results. There is also a universally low tolerance for errors. As a lender, you constantly need to evolve and select staff, partners and technology that help you remain in compliance while providing top-notch customer service.
Bob Dougherty is executive vice president of business development at Calyx Software, a leading provider of comprehensive mortgage software solutions for banks, credit unions, mortgage bankers, wholesale and correspondent lenders and brokers. He has more than 20 years of operations and business development experience in the mortgage industry. Previously, Dougherty was vice president of mortgage operations at Merchants Bank and chief executive officer of Timberland Mortgage Services, Inc., a multi-branch lender and underwriter of residential mortgage loans in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Kansas and Colorado.
